Kansas duo Erin McNorton (Offensive Player of the Week) and Tayler Soucie (Rookie of the Week) claimed a pair of Big 12 volleyball weekly awards for matches from Sept. 16-22 while Kaitlynn Pelger (Kansas State) earned the Defensive Player of the Week honor.

This is the first career accolade for McNorton and sixth for Pelger, who has been named the Offensive Player of the Week four times and has also collected a Rookie of the Week designation.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEKErin McNorton, Kansas, Sr., S, Dallas, Texas/Plano West HSMcNorton was awarded the Tournament MVP of the Kansas Invitational last weekend as the senior dished out 130 assists, good for an even 13.00 assists per set average, which translated into an impressive .364 team attack percentage for the tournament. That average led the Big 12 for the week. The senior started the weekend with 42 assists in a 3-0 win against North Dakota State. In the efficient sweep, the setter guided her offense to a .458 attack percentage, just .10 points off the Horejsi Family Athletics Center record. Facing Georgia, McNorton tallied a career-high five kills and fell just one dig short of a double-double with 38 assists and nine digs. In the weekend finale, the Dallas native distributed 50 assists in a four-set win over Notre Dame. She currently sits at 2,200 for her career and continues to lead the Big 12 with 12.08 assists per set.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEKKaitlynn Pelger, Kansas State, Sr., MB, Olathe, Kan./Olathe SouthPelger was the only player to rank in the top 10 in the Big 12 in both blocks (second) and digs (10th) last week as the senior averaged 1.80 blocks per set and 3.50 digs. In K-State’s 3-0 sweep of Arkansas last Friday, she recorded a season-high nine blocks, which ties the Big 12 season-high for 2013. She also led the Wildcats in digs in all three of their matches, averaging 3.50 over the three contests. Pelger helped K-State limit its opponents to a combined .152 hitting percentage.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEKTayler Soucie, Kansas, Fr., MB, Osawatomie, Kan./OsawatomieSoucie was a primary contributor to the Jayhawks’ undefeated run through the Kansas Invitational. Starting two of this week’s three matches, she posted a .541 attack percentage during that span – which included 22 kills to only two errors. The hitting mark led the Big 12 for the week. She also led the team with a 1.44 blocks per set average for the weekend, which ranked fourth in the Conference. Against Notre Dame, the freshman rattled off 10 kills without an error and tied with teammate Caroline Jarmoc for the team-lead with five blocks. Her 1.33 blocks per set on the season is second only to Oklahoma’s Sallie McLaurin.